Lynn Cowell Archives - The Mom Initiative

What Do You Expect?

Stacking up the pretty, but unused plates, I decided to go ahead and leave the holiday napkins right on top where I had put them earlier that morning. Maybe I’ll get to use them next year. I might as well just leave them so they are ready. I tried to think of something positive to push out my thoughts loaded with disappointment. Thanksgiving morning wasn’t what I thought it would be. If fact, it was nothing like I had planned. When I had whisked together the sunny eggs earlier that morning, I hadn’t picture myself moving the breakfast casserole from the oven to …

Street-smart or Safe?

Street-smart or safe? As a parent, do you often feel like you’re caught between the two options you want for your child? On one hand, you want your children to be intelligent; understanding what is going on in their culture, so that they can make wise decisions and not be caught off guard. But you also want to protect them from so much of the evil that surrounds all of us each and every day. We want our kids to talk to us and feel we are a safe place; no issue is off limits. Yet, when we know things that are …

When Life Throws Us More Change

Welling up with tears, I began my apology to my daughter. Seems like I’d been doing that a lot lately. This time I had failed to order her graduation announcements. What kind of mom am I? My girl smiles at me as I blubber my confession. She reassures me: this is not an emergency. Tilting her head, she looks at me as if I’m from another planet. Not because I forgot, but because I’m crying. Who is this woman? I imagine her asking in her thoughts. I know she must wonder about me these days. Lately, I haven’t been …

What No Mom Wants to Talk About

Don’t TV stations do a great job of pulling you to a must see show? I had seen the ads for Tyra and knew it was one I didn’t want to miss. In her very frank way, the talk show host was dragging all “private” issues out in the open as she interviewed a panel of teen girls. The topic: sexting. The surprise guests: their mothers. Wow were they surprised as these moms heard their thirteen, fourteen and fifteen-year-old girls talk freely of the explicit language and NUDE pictures they regularly exchange with their friends. The shock on the mothers’ faces proved they had …

Could Our Best Plans Not Be the Best? ~ by Lynn Cowell

My dream left me feelings frighten and shaky. I knew it wasn’t real, yet anxiety filled my heart. My daughter had gotten married and I had played no part it. Not in the proposal, not in the planning. No part whatsoever. In my dream, I was a guest in the back of the church, watching. As her favorite music began to play, my mind began to swirl. “My girl is getting married! Why am I just sitting here?” Rushing to the bride’s room, I found her. Her bridal outfit was a reflection of her unique style; completely different from …

See Coming Before It’s Coming & a GIVEAWAY ~ by Lynn Cowell

Happy Monday! This is Stephanie and I’m super excited to share with you about Lynn Cowell’s new book, Magnetic! It’s definitely a MUST READ and Lynn is graciously giving away a copy to one blessed commenter to this post! SOOOOO… before you dive into today’s power-packed post by Lynn, let me tell you how you can enter to win. ENTER TO WIN MAGNETIC: Packed with honesty, encouragement and perspective-changing truth Magnetic, by Lynn Cowell, will empower girls and young woman to reach their fullest potential by focusing on becoming who God made them to be! A girl who reflects God’s love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, …

Changing Our Position for a New Perspective ~ by Lynn Cowell

My heart was broken again; my crush crushing me. I remember questioning: Why, God? Why not him? Why break up now? When God asked me to choose Him over him, my young heart obeyed, but not without a struggle. Lacking history with God, I hadn’t yet experienced the blessings of obedience. So I obeyed and hoped God knew what He was doing. Through the breakups and broken hearts, God was moving me to a new place where He could reveal a side of Him I hadn’t experienced. I had to move “out of love” with a boyfriend in order to move …

The Struggle by Lynn Cowell

The Struggle Lynn Cowell “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4 (NIV) “Why can’t we just get past this?” The agitation in my voice revealed the frustration in my heart. I just wanted to fix this relationship problem and move on to happy. My mind and heart were weary from the extended battle. I’m a fixer at heart, especially when it comes to my kids. When I see one …

Just Try to Push Me Away by Lynn Cowell

“The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.“ Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV) When our children were little, our discipline had a pattern. When they disobeyed, we disciplined them correct the behavior. Then when the punishment was over, we would take them in our arms, reassure them we loved them and life would get back to normal. But what happens as they get older? Sometimes even stronger or bigger than us? We stop. We still discipline. But those moments of loving kindness after the discipline …

Pain Blocker

As a mom, when my kids mess up, it pains me especially when my child experiences pain as a result of those mistakes. My emotions want to take over at times like these. Anger wants them to feel the full force of their choices, while sympathy wants to step in and take away all the consequences. Either way, my emotions try to become the driving force behind what happens next, which rarely ever turns out good! Before we have make decisions, we should look to Jesus and see how He handled difficult situations when He was on earth. Jesus didn’t …

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